Spring salmon fishing in Port Renfrew is slowing down, and most anglers are now targetting coho. That being said, Port Renfrew Marina reports Hugh Hamer caught a 40.5 pound tyee at Camper Creek this week....and earlier in the week Troy Halliday of Fishing360charters caught a 50 pounder (and then a 37 pounder the next day)...so there's still a few big spring salmon around!

The Marina's big coho derby is Oct 3 and 4. $25 per rod, with $5 to the hatchery and winner take the rest...jackpots up to $14,000 in prior years....plus the fun is free!

Kelly from Last Chance Fishing Charters sends in the following report: "Fishing in Port Renfrew is still good, lots of Coho in Juan de Fuca Strait and on Swiftsure Bank. Halibut fishing was good on the anchor on the "dink" reef off of Nitinat, but halibut was slow and small on the bank. [next day] Squid kept grabbing the halibut bait, switching over to smaller plastic and drifting was better today, I gave up on the anchor after getting squidded on my first few pieces of bait."

Here's a picture of Dale from Australia with a huge Humboldt squid caught with Jolly Rogers Fishing Charters He catches them back home, so he knows what to do with them: "Lattice cut it, then cut it into 1 inch pieces and dust it in cajun and flour, salt and pepper. Then wok toss it in butter and garlic, serve with some sweet chilli sauce on the side). Came out well.the squid tasted good and was tender". So there you go!

As the coho move into the San Juan harbour, fishing close to shore should get better and better. Maurice from the San Juan Hatchery reports there are lots of coho in the bay, and a significant number have entered the river. For those fresh water inclined, this might be a good weekend to get a small boat and drift the river....big coho + light tackle = big-time fishing fun and adventure.

Click here to read DC Reid's article on Vancouver Island shore fishing. Here's what he says about Port Renfrew: "Port Renfrew is high on the list as it has the largest coho on the Island. Last week there were more than a thousand Chinook in the San Juan System, and the third week in September is the traditional time to fish the estuary below the bridge with spinners and spoons early and late in the day."

Have fun out there!